Toddler Trouble!

ErinLily44

My son is 25 moths old or 2 years. He is constantly waking up in the night or sometimes he just won't go to sleep. If he does sleep then he will wake up really early in the morning. He also doesn't like to eat anything and only wants yoghurt at the moment. This is putting lots of strain on the family because I become really grouchy and my mum gets fed up when she looks after him.

If anyone has been through this, has kids or knows what to do then please do say something

Thnak you!

Carmofrap

My son went through a yogurt only phase last month so much so that I took it out completely and I now think he may have been a little intolerant to it since his poop changed in a good way and his behavior changed as well. As for sleeping. My Lil guy has never slept well since birth. But since I removed the dairy he does sleep a lot better. He also was waking up thirsty or sometimes hungry so I find keeping a sippy cup of water with him helps a lot. Same with giving him a healthy filling snack right before bed. My Lil guy went from 8+ times a night to just one maybe two the last week or so with these changes and he is the same age. I also noticed though he went through a big developmental leap and that made his sleep much worse. I know how bad it is to be sleep deprived. I hope it works itself out for you!

ErinLily44

Thanks for the advice! I'll try it out. Also, sorry it took so long to reply but I havn't been able to get to my laptop in ages!

LiveNLove44

DD is close to his age and definitely loves yogurt. She usually has one at lunch time each day, but she definitely asks for it all the time. We have bargaining pieces sometimes when we are working on diversifying her food choices. For instance, if she likes (will eat) certain foods like carrots, but she knows that yogurt is in the fridge, she has to eat her carrots first before the yogurt. Early on, we did three pieces of carrot and then one spoon of yogurt. We alternated and she did well with the whole plate of food. The tough part is when she refuses. If she won't eat the variety of food we've made and she's "standing her short-little-toddler ground" we ask her if she is all done with lunch. If she says all done, we pack it up and wash her hands. If she asks for a snack soon thereafter, we have the food that she didn't eat for lunch as her option. Eventually she eats it!

MamaOwl15

My son is almost exactly the same age (turned 2 May 24). His eating and sleeping habits seem to be a little more "normal," though. However, he throws tantrums all day over the littlest things. I think being 2 is hard! There's so much going on in their little brains, with language development and physical growth. And they're also trying to assert their independence even though they really still need you for everything.

As for sleep issues, have you tried adjusting his bedtime? If he's overtired, he may have trouble falling asleep and he may have night terrors that wake him up. Maybe putting him down earlier would help?

ErinLily44

Thanks! My son was born the 22nd of May actually! Will try the sleeping pattern change and all food tips

arwestover3

So the only part of this I have dealt with is the early waking; we realized she was getting up with the sun, and blackout curtains helped! Maybe that could help with part of them problem

LJM0521

My advice is to just hang in there and be consistent.  I HATED it when people told me that with my first child, because I thought that being consistent meant he would get it after a couple days, maybe a couple weeks tops, and it just wasn't working.  But two year olds are incredibly stubborn and learning what they can and cannot get away with.  My DD is 2 1/2 and most days I want to pull my hair out because of the tantrums and fits, but I know it's temporary and an important part of normal development.  You WILL get through this and get your sweet child back...I promise ;-) It's just a long road to get there. 

amberrmariee20

@ErinLily44 sounds like a normal 2 year old to me ! Your gonna have to get other food into him too, stop giving him yogurt altogether for a few days and incorporate some other foods in ! Then after he starts eating other stuff give him yogurt after breakfast or lunch. My son is almost 4 and he will wake up sometimes through out the night, a few nights ago he wouldn't stay in his own bed, and as a baby he always slept alone in his crib. It was really frustrating waking up 2-3 times a night with him and having a hard time getting him back to sleep. I put a tv in his room, and I'll play a movie for him to go to sleep. I leave the movie on all night and he will sometimes get up at night still, but easy to get him back to sleep now. I agree with @arwestover3 my son will wake up earlier with the sun too ! I know how frustrating it can be sometimes, but you will get through ! Remember your boss, wait till he hits age 3.5-4 and starts trying to bargain with you saying "I'll clean my room if you give me ----" that's when it becomes real fun !

eat111315

Two is tough. Hang in there.

Offer a variety of foods on his plate, we have the divided plates and each section always has a different food in it. Just keep offering every meal other foods and eventually he'll eat them. And until then, there are worse things to eat than yogurt! Maybe do the Greek so he's getting more protein.

Like others have said- for sleep move his bedtime earlier. Sleep begets sleep for kids. Also, my kids definetley sleep better if I run them ragged throughout the day. Lots of park time and fresh air.

DeeGreer

I'm pregnant with my first and this made me so anxious. I was never a picky eater...I'm not sure how I would handle that. Maybe some Pedia-sure drinks? They taste like milkshakes and kids like them! ...I still like them lol!

MamaOwl15

DeeGreer said:

I'm pregnant with my first and this made me so anxious. I was never a picky eater...I'm not sure how I would handle that. Maybe some Pedia-sure drinks? They taste like milkshakes and kids like them! ...I still like them lol!

You can give them Pedia-sure or kids' nutrition bars if they're really not getting enough nutrients, but it's normal for toddlers to go through picky stages. You just keep offering a variety of foods, and if there are certain favorites that are actually nutritious, don't worry if they eat those every day.

My son LOVES bananas, peanut butter, bacon, chicken nuggets and fish. Add in apples, occasional kale chips, and Cheez-it's and that's his diet. He's offered other food often, but he won't eat it so I try to sneak in vegetables when I can. But when he won't touch certain foods, I don't worry too much. He's growing and meeting his milestones, and I know he'll eventually grow out of this stage.

The key is to just keep offering variety. Your kid will want to eat what he sees you eating. He may try it and not like it, but if you eat healthy, he'll learn to eat healthy too.

amberrmariee20

One thing I'm glad for is my son will eat whatever I put infront of him. Except mushrooms, he will literally gag on them. He loves any type of seafood and any type of meat, and veggies especially broccoli ! He's not a big junk food person either. I still have so much of his Easter chocolate untouched.

DeeGreer

@MamaOwl15 I eat healthy but my boyfriend doesn't and that's one thing we can't agree on. I have to sneak vegetables in HIS diet ! I tricked him into thinking zucchini bites were hash browns. And I always put spinach and avocado in his smoothies I guess I'd do the same if my son ends up picky about his food but hopefully he'll have a taste for healthier stuff and not want McDonald's like his dad. Oy!